American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.
Republican Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
